Empress Bakery

Wow very very disappointed in the bakery. Barely anything inside, no atmosphere and rude customer service.

CLOSED
Booooohoooo! The sign is still there so hopefully the place will re-​open… I miss you Empress!

Dismal. When I moved into the immediate neighbourhood, my first thought was «neighbourhood bakery, just like in Europe! I’ll be going here lots.» How wrong I was! Nothing is very fresh, day-​olds are more like two-​week olds and the quality and selection of most items is pretty low. There are also very few healthier choices and I’m pretty sure nothing is baked on-​premises.
I occasionally get steam buns here, but do yourself a favour and get those (and your vietnamese subs) across the street at Ba Le and your baked goods just down the road at Tung Hing Bakery, where they are made fresh and sell quickly. This place is not worth the money.

* Meh just about sums it up! *
I’ve passed by this place many times and always wondered if it was any good. There are a lot of hidden gems on Kingsway that are worth exploring. Sadly this isn’t one of them.
I ordered the bánh mì. They didn’t have any choice at all, so I assumed it was their version of bánh mì dac biet.
The bread was ok, but not particularly fresh. It wasn’t stale yet. But it wouldn’t be long until it was. There was almost no pâté at all. Such a thin layer that I couldn’t even taste it. The cilantro was fresh and tasty. The pickled carrots didn’t taste pickled. They were almost raw. There was a very very thin layer of a mystery meat. There were no hot peppers, and only a slight hint of fish sauce. Overall meh.
I should have just gone a little bit past to good old reliable Tung Hing (
). What was I possibly thinking!!!